Viego – Mad Scibrarian

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

The first ever novel set in the blockbuster universe of League of Legends, one of the most popular video games of all time, Ruination is an epic tale of magic, revenge, and an empire on the verge of ruin.

Camavor is a brutal land with a bloody legacy. Where the empire’s knights go, slaughter follows.

Kalista seeks to change that. When her young and narcissistic uncle, Viego, becomes king, she vows to temper his destructive instincts, as his loyal confidant, advisor, and military general. But her plans are thwarted when an assassin’s poisoned blade strikes Viego’s wife, Isolde, afflicting her with a malady for which there is no cure.

As Isolde’s condition worsens, Viego descends into madness and grief, threatening to drag Camavor down with him. Kalista makes a desperate gambit to save the kingdom: she searches for the long lost Blessed Isles, rumored to hold the queen’s salvation, if only Kalista can find them.

But corruption grows in the Blessed Isles’ capital, where a vengeful warden seeks to ensnare Kalista in his cruel machinations. She will be forced to choose between her loyalty to Viego and doing what she knows is right–for even in the face of utter darkness, one noble act can shine a light that saves the world.

My Review
5 out of 5 stars

I’ve been playing League of Legends since season 2. I’m hardstuck silver, so 10 years of playing this game certainly hasn’t paid off. I am addicted and keep playing on though. Anyway, 10 years of playing this game and finally they release a book about some of the champions I have known for ages! Playing League of Legends and reading are literally my only two hobbies, so you can imagine my excitement. This novel follows the origins of the Ruined King, Viego, and his military general niece, Kalista. Viego’s wife, Isolde, is terminally ill and in need of a miracle cure. The thought of losing Isolde puts A Thousand Cuts into Viego’s heart. She needs to be saved or Viego will lose his mind and the kingdom of Camavor will suffer for it. After trying countless methods to cure her, it seems all hope is lost until Viego decides to try to find the legendary Blessed Isles for a cure. He doesn’t trust anyone to go and look for them other than Kalista, for she has grand Martial Poise. Fate’s Call then sends Kalista on a journey to save her queen from Damnation. Hopefully it isn’t a Death Sentence.

It’s a pretty straightforward fantasy plot with Kalista going on a journey to locate a Fountain Of Youth-esque island, but develops into its own unique story with League’s lore. I think the best part is the fact that I finally get more to the LoL lore, and I really enjoyed learning about the origins of the Kalista and Viego and how they got to where they are in the game itself. A handful of other champions do make an appearance and are integral to the plot as well, but I don’t want to spoil it. A side note– in the print version of the book there is character art at the end of the novel for each of the champions that do make an appearance, so just another way to avoid spoilers if you want to go in blind (like Lee Sin!). There are also many Easter eggs relating to the game itself. If you’re a fan of League of Legends, you’ll certainly enjoy this. I think it does also work well on it’s own, and people unfamiliar with the game will still enjoy a well-written fantasy quest story. The pacing of the novel is quite smooth– I think it’s well edited and doesn’t linger unnecessarily at any parts. It had good flow and kept the story interesting.

Understandably given League’s gameplay, there are quite a bit of action scenes. I personally tend to struggle with action scenes and generally skim them to get a gist of the outcome. Here, though, I thought all of those were written very well– they were easy to picture and kept me engaged.

If this book had a League of Legends rank, I’d give it Diamond (5 ranks of Iron – Diamond for the Goodreads 5 star scale). LemonNation gives it a nod of approval.